Businesses, schools and community groups from across Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes have raised £50,243 for local charities through this year’s Franklins Solicitors £50 Challenge.
The fundraising total was revealed at the £50 Challenge Fundraising Awards where participants, charity partners and supporters gathered to celebrate another successful year of the initiative.
Hosted by Franklins Solicitors and supported by businessman, broadcaster and former The Apprentice advisor Nick Hewer, the awards recognised the outstanding achievements of the 56 teams that took part in the 2026 challenge.
Now in its eighth year, the challenge gives teams an initial £50 investment and encourages them to use their creativity, entrepreneurial skills and determination to generate as much money as possible for a chosen local charity.
The 2026 fundraising total of £50,243 takes the overall amount raised through the challenge since its launch in 2018 to more than £243,000.
This year’s Charities
This year’s charities included Cynthia Spencer Hospice, Northampton Hope Centre, Rainbows Hospice, The Air Ambulance Service, The Lewis Foundation, Arthur Ellis Mental Health Foundation, Milton Keynes Hospital Charity, Spinal Injuries Association, Medical Detection Dogs, MK Snap, MK Community Foundation and Action 4 Youth.
The evening’s highest fundraising honour went to Footsteps Travel UK Ltd, which was crowned Overall Winner after raising £4,518 for its chosen charity, The Lewis Foundation.
Words from The Winners
Commenting on winning, Andrea Fountain from Footsteps travel said:
“To win The Highest Fundraiser is absolutely fantastic. We’ve had great fun, raised an amazing amount of money and been overwhelmed by the support from our clients and the wider community. It’s been wonderful to bring people together for such a worthwhile cause.”
What Our Fundraisers Got Up To
Throughout the challenge, participants organised a huge range of fundraising activities including street food festivals, quiz nights, raffles, sponsored challenges, bake sales, wine tasting, drag karaoke, football matches, family fun days and community fundraising initiatives.
One of the most inspiring stories of the evening came from the Young Entrepreneur Award category.
The award was presented to Woo Reviews, whose founder, Woo, aged just eight, impressed judges with her entrepreneurial spirit and determination. Her fundraising efforts raised £910 for charity and included organising a street food festival, Woo Fest, attended by more than 500 people.
‘‘I feel really happy to have won Young Entrepreneur. I enjoyed getting involved in the challenge because I know the money will go to do something useful and help people.”
The challenge also delivered a significant impact for local charities. The Lewis Foundation had the highest number of fundraising teams supporting its cause and those teams collectively raised almost £20,000 to help fund the charity’s work supporting adult cancer patients undergoing treatment in hospital.
Commenting on the challenge, Emily Griffiths from The Lewis Foundation said:
“The Challenge offers a unique way to raise funds and get the community involved rather than traditional fundraising. It costs £3.60 to provide a gift pack so with the amount raised, there’s going to be lots of people we can support through a really dark time.”
A Challenge That Brings Everyone Together
Andrea Smith, Equity Partner at Franklins Solicitors, said:
“Every year we are amazed by the enthusiasm, creativity and commitment shown by our teams. The £50 Challenge starts with a simple idea – taking £50 and turning it into something bigger, but what participants achieve goes far beyond fundraising alone.
The challenge brings people together, develops entrepreneurial skills and, most importantly, creates a lasting impact for local charities and the communities they support. We are incredibly proud of every team that took part and grateful to all of our charity partners, sponsors, supporters and volunteers who helped make this year’s challenge such a success.”
The £50 Challenge was launched by Franklins Solicitors in 2018 and continues to encourage businesses and community groups to develop entrepreneurial skills while making a meaningful difference to local causes.
